RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Bruno and his brother Bostar, bastard sons of Hasdrubal Barca, were exiled to fight in the gladiator pits of Parthia. They were saved by brother Hannibal, who traveled through an interdimensional portal to rescue them from eternal servitude.
Born in 157 AD in Singidunum to a patrician family with an abusive father, Bruttia fled to Asia as a teenager to where she learned the way of the samurai. On her return home, she was captured and forced to fight as a gladiator in Pula.
Born in 111 AD in Spain, Katia Cruscellio was a soldier in the fabled legion of vampire hunters who traveled through dimensional portals seeking to destroy the antediluvian scourge across space and time.
Born 2178 AD in Toletum, Velia is a descendant of King Alaric I, though she finds that about as useful in Neo-Carthage as a souvenir from a forgotten war. A wealthy socialite with a penchant for the morbid, Velia moves through the city’s elite circles with detached amusement. While rebellions and smuggling rings swirl around her, she drifts through it all, unintentionally entangling herself in minor scandals—never quite realizing how close she comes to chaos.
Born in 144 BC in Gordion, Morys, a blacksmith, and his brother Pierpont, an accountant, were enslaved by the Romans and forced into gladiator combat. Morys was shipped off to an alternate dimension, dedicating his life to return and watch over his younger sibling.
Born in 130 BC in Cirta, Thyra was a battled hardened daughter of King Jugurtha who betrayed her benighted father to Sulla and later became the leader of a zombie-hunting cohort in Volubilis.
Born in 303 BC in Terme on the coast of the Black Sea, Deborah is an Amazonian warrior who portaled to the women-dominated 28th century AD to battle aliens and cyborgs in a futuristic cybercolosseum.
Born 498 AD in Gamla Uppsala, Tola’s travels saw her migrate south to Dacia where she served the Gepid kings as a vampire hunter.
Born 2185 AD in Corduba, Xylo is an interdimensional RTS gaming prodigy and former techno-slave who hacked his way to freedom. Cocky and self-absorbed, Xylo lived only for the thrill of the game until a rebellion led by a cloned Hannibal Barca tried to recruit him in the fight against the cyborg Emperor Caligula. Not wanting to jeopardize his lucrative career, he refused, until a scandal contrived by a corrupt governor shattered his reputation. Now, with nothing left to lose, Xylo reluctantly joins the fight, piloting a Xena-class mech in the battle for Neo-Carthage. Xylo plays by his own rules, driven less by loyalty than by the thrill of proving that the system is his to control—and burn.
Born 103 BC in Dyrrhachium, Jerome was a slave who joined forces with Spartacus during the Third Servile War, but fled through an interdimensional portal to the late 20th century AD to avoid their inevitable capture and crucifixion.
Born 1955 AD in Tolosa, Ricki is a hairdresser, gossip, and fan of Italo disco who mixed up her cell phone for an interdimensional portal device and was transferred to the 1st century AD where she continues to cut hair and spread rumours in the public baths.
Born 1989 AD in Damascus, Raya is a rebellious teenage genius who fled the chaotic and oppressive 21st century AD by reciting ancient incantations at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which opened an interdimensional portal to the 3rd century AD. Now she is living her dream as a style consultant for the Empress Zenobia.
Born in 123 BC in Tarsus, Rox was a Cilician pirate who had captured and sold Julius Caesar for ransom. As revenge, Caesar returned to condemn Rox to an eternal life of fighting in the most brutal gladiator pits through time and space.
Born blind in 81 AD in Lutetia, Jill was sent through an interdimensional portal by her wealthy parents to have her vision restored. Now with the help of a cybervisor and her trusty labrador retriever, Caesar, she operates a dog sitting and grooming business in the 22nd century AD Neo-Carthage.
Born 120 AD in Londinium, Lyra is a dimension-hopping reveler who spends much of her time in a 1980s AD alternate universe, engaging in anti-imperialist activities and seeking out the greatest parties in that halcyon world of Roman hegemony, blending her love for Bacchanalian revelry with a spirit of resistance.
